Ju Ji Hoon will grace the covers of the January 2021 edition of fashion magazine Arena Homme Plus after capping off a stellar year in acting.
The Kingdom actor ended the year with a bang after bagging the 15th A-Awards given by the magazine to the most active person in each field this year.
It can be recalled that this year, Netflix dropped the second season of its hit zombie franchise Kingdom. Ju Ji Hoon followed up the success of the series with the legal drama Hyena. Before year-end, he was already beginning production for the suspense drama Mt. Jiri opposite Jun Ji Hyun.
According to a report by Naver, Ju Ji Hoon humbly accepted the award and said that only after he received it did he remember that he worked on the two projects this year.
He said that 2020 was a year where he received a lot of love, but at the same time, he found it hard to celebrate and be happy because of the ongoing global pandemic.
The actor shared his feelings about the success of Kingdom on Netflix and admitted that he was overwhelmed at the positive reception that the series received worldwide.
He said that the concept was unique for a Joseon dynasty drama. However, even though the setting was unfamiliar, many people could relate to it because of the universal material called zombies.
Kingdom was a far different concept from his next project, Hyena, he said. He credited his co-star Kim Hye Soo for their amazing chemistry.
Ju Ji Hoon said that when he was acting next to a veteran actress like Hye Soo, his imagination and expression expanded. This was why their acting for Hyena was so effective.
For the interview, he discussed his acting style since the beginning of his career when he starred in the hit series Goong (also known as Princess Hours). He said that he is now more thoughtful about his approach after acting in different genres for his film and drama projects.
He explained that depending on the platform, he adjusts his acting style. The actor said that there were times when his methods did not pan out even though he worked hard on them but what was important was that he did his best, and he remained focused on his work.
Ju Ji Hoon said he received a lot of advice from his writers and directors before filming. For his next project, Mt. Jiri, he said he went to Jirisan with writer Kim Eun Hee and got more information about the character and the environment before the cameras started rolling.
He said that he enjoyed this process very much because he also got closer to the people he worked with. He said he was thankful that many writers and directors believed in his abilities. Because of this, the work becomes a collaborative process, where the characters are analyzed, and they work together on the best approach.
Mt. Jiri is a series written by Kim Eun Hee, the same writer who wrote Kingdom. Mr. Sunshine director Lee Eun Bok will take charge of the direction.
In the new drama, Jun Ji Hyun will take on the role of Seo Yi Kang, one of the top rangers in Mt. Jirisan Park, while Ju Hi Hoon will play the part of her rookie partner Kang Hyun Jo. The series is expected to release in the first half of 2021, Soompi reported.
